B Positive
by Hyuuga Sakura
Summary: After Layla is removed from being Warrens sidekick she moves to Bon Temps, LA to look for Sookie Stackhouse. True Blood crossover LaylaWarren, LaylaEric
1. Chapter 1

Ch 1

Reassigned

Layla was sufficiently confused to say the least. She had received a phone call from Principal Powers that morning which was basically about how Mrs Powers was so impressed with Warren Peace's total attitude 180 and how due to certain circumstances Layla should go visit him. Right away.

Layla hadn't particularly liked how the conversation seemed to turn from glowing praise of Layla's presence on Warren to that she had to immediately check up on him... oh and the cryptic edge of missing information.

Layla climbed out of her orange rust VW bug and swung the door closed with a loud creak. Warren would hopefully not be in so bad a mood, but in case he was she had a bottle of Johnny Walker under her one arm and a copy of the movie Snatch under her other arm as she walked up the little pathway to his row house. Her red hair fell forward as she fiddled with her keys while trying to find the right one that would open his door.

Yes, Layla had a set of his house keys but only because he was her hero... and she his sidekick. Apparently not only the many students at Sky High had noticed their strange friendship, but so had the teachers and Principal Powers who thought it would be highly advantageous to pair them up after graduation. Well after Layla graduated that is, Warren graduated three years before her but wasn't making use of his powers, so when Principal Powers offered to make Layla his sidekick he agreed a little too quickly. Unfortunately Principal Powers' genius had run out there so they got stuck with possibly the stupidest names ever. Warren had been given Fireman, and Layla had been branded with Twiggy. Needless to say that's a sore spot for both of them.

"Warren?" Layla asked tentatively while pushing his door open slightly.

His house was dark as far as she could see and so she shyly entered and locked the door behind her while looking from side to side with her wide jade green eyes, half expecting to see an evil doer or some other cheesy villain in such a gloomy place. She padded gently down the hall and entered the kitchen. Setting Mr Walker and the movie down on the table she stealthily moved off further down the hall to the stairs to check to see if he was upstairs. Still on the lookout for ninjas, she noticed a little twisted up black mess on the floor. She bent down for further inspection and found it to be Warren's cell phone... well what used to be, it appeared that the thing must have offended him since he had melted it to smithereens.

"Warren?" Layla turned the corner and saw that the part of his doorframe that's near his doorknob looked like it offended him like his phone did.

Layla entered Warren's room hesitantly and found him sitting in his desk chair with his head in his hands, his fingers dug into his black and red hair. She immediately rushed towards him and sat on the ground next to him and started to stroke his arm. He flinched away from her and she suppressed her hurt feelings inside, she was there for Warren right now not her own self, plus if he's pulling away from her that was usually the sign that it had something to do with her.

"Warren, what's wrong? What happened?" Layla said stroking his arm again even thought he was still moving away from her touch.

"What are you doing here Layla?" He hissed at her

"Principal Powers told me to check on you" She didn't bother to hide her hurt tone, he looked up at this. He wasn't crying but the look of fury on his face kind of made her wish he was. She could handle that easier.

Warren wasn't mope-y or anything like that, he never was, he was always so strong and stable, so this whole dark house and cryptic messages thing was starting to freak Layla out.

He sighed and said "You should go Layla"

"No" She said defiantly.

"Yes"

"NO"

"YES"

"NO!" She was getting really angry and didn't mind the dangerous look in Warren's obsidian eyes at all.

"YES!" Warren's fists clenched at his sides.

"NO!" She was on her knees now, level with him in his chair, screaming in his face.

"YES DAMMIT!" He slammed his fist down on the desk next to them, upsetting everything on it and Layla too.

"What the hell is wrong with you Warren?! I get some cryptic call about how your attitudes been so much better thanks to me and then an order to check on you and now that I'm here your just raging at me and acting violent!!! I deserve an explanation!!!" She hollered at him while trying not to cry. He was acting like a villain to her.

"Your not my sidekick anymore! I don't owe you anything!" He was furious but trying to control his temper, she was suddenly aware that the room felt like an oven even though it was 10 degrees outside and he didn't have heating.

"Why?" She felt like someone had just deflated her.

"Apparently I've had such an emotional turn around that I'm not a threat to become a villain anymore and so you'll be reassigned." His head was back in his hands. Warren knew he was not acting like himself but he was upset. He was gunna propose soon... well after he asked her out that is, but still she was his future and now she was going to be reassigned to who knows where, best just have a clean break. He would demolish her and maybe she and he could go on like they didn't love each other so much.

"Well I don't want to leave you Warren, so I won't. It's as simple as that, no need to go all PMSman on me." Layla said with a shaky smile as she rubbed his back. She was secretly pinning all her hopes on him, that he would say he didn't want her to leave too.

'Dammit' Warren thought 'she knows what I want to hear and she's such a martyr she'd stay with me even if she was unhappy the rest of her life.' He lifted his head to look at her and saw her doe like eyes and immediately regretted it. 'She's too good for you Warren Peace, just do what you have to. NOW!' He shook off her arm.

"Layla, I want you to go. There's nothing for you if you stay with me, please go now." Warren Peace officially wanted to kill himself.

Layla was so dazed by his words that she did exactly what he said. She stood up, turned away from him and left his house. She got into her car and drove home. She opened the door to her apartment building and went inside, she walked up the stairs to her level then went into her apartment, closed and locked her door then took off her shoes. She dropped her purse on the floor then went into her bedroom and collapsed onto her bed. Then she surrendered herself to the darkness in her mind.

1 Week Later

"We have three assignments here and one on the east coast. Which sounds good--?" The Mayor's question was cut off by Layla's hasty response.

"East! East coast! That's what I want… Please" She added as an afterthought.

"Okay, east coast it is then. You'll start that one immediately is that Ok?" He was cut short again.

"Fine!" She answered too readily as well.

"Okay please be packed and ready to go by 2:00 pm tomorrow." The Mayor added and then the line went dead.

Layla wasn't one who liked to run away from her problems but she was going to this time. After she talked to Warren she wasn't aware of anything until she realized she was in Magentas house being cared for by her about three days later. Whenever she thought of Warren her heart ached and she felt like dying but she knew she shouldn't and so she had to leave.

'By 2pm tomorrow I'll be out of this town and in... somewhere on the east coast!' Layla thought with hope that she'll be able to get over all this.

A/N: This was supposed to be the prologue but it just got so damn long (well long for me) that I decided to make it chapter one.


	2. Chapter 2

Ch 2

Moving Day

Layla had all her things packed neatly and ready to be shipped off at 1:50pm. So she was actually quite proud of herself. Magenta was by her side all day helping her pack and also shooting her worried glances every few minutes as well. She wasn't 100 percent sure why exactly Layla was going hundreds of miles away, but she would bet it had to do with Warren Peace. She still had vividly fresh mental images of a couple days ago when she had found Layla in her apartment…

_Magenta was just gunna stop by for a couple of minutes to make sure Layla hadn't skipped town without telling anyone after the girl hadn't returned her phone calls in a couple of days. She'd even left her trademark voicemail death threats. As Magenta fumbled for the key on top of the door frame she wondered how she was gunna break the news that Zach had proposed to her. She grasped the key finally and jammed it into the lock then turned it forcefully while turning the doorknob and pushing forward so the door swung wide open for her. _

_She first noticed Layla's shoes weren't lined up next to all her others but were instead haphazardly tossed on the ground. Then her eyes traveled forward to take in Laylas abandoned purse on the floor looking a little abused. _

_"Layla?... Layyyyylaaaa? Hello? Echo echo echo… Layla?!" Magenta was looking around until she finally reached her bed room and found her lying motionless on her bed. Magenta nearly had a heart attack. 'Don't be dead don't be dead don't be dead' She mentally and verbally chanted while looking for Layla's pulse. She soon found it, but it was very weak. _

_"Oh shit… what's happened to you girlie?" She looked around then called Zach when she couldn't get Layla to respond._

_Zach came over right away and together they managed to carry Layla downstairs and put her into Magentas car. Magenta brought her home and took care of her for a couple of days until Layla came around to the living again._

Layla hadn't answered any of Magenta's questions after she'd woken up, but her silence and the fact that Magentas voicemail death threats hadn't had any effect on Warren confirmed Magenta's suspicions that he was the source of Laylas dark days.

"So you sure this is what you really want to do Layla? I mean where are you even going? Who know knows how long you'll have to stay there, you might miss the wedding…" Magenta just kind of trailed off she knew that a guilt trip was wrong but she didn't want her best friend to leave her.

Layla looked pained but tried to hide it anyway. "I don't want to miss the wedding but it's an assignment Mag, I have no choice. And I do so know where I'm going." She grabbed a packet of papers out of her back pocket and unfolded them. "Bon Temps Louisiana… sounds nice enough, maybe a little hot, but I'll get to learn more about swamp-like plants." Layla tried to sound optimistic but she really wasn't looking forward to losing all her friends and family now that she had more time to think about her decision more carefully. She tucked a piece of her flame red hair behind her ear as she sat down on one the many boxes littering her apartment.

"So… how's Shapeshifter doing?" Layla asked while fidgeting with her hands a little. She wasn't normally nervous around Magenta… ok she never was but Mag was making her feel guilty.

Magenta sighed at Layla's attempt at small talk "He's ok, but the papers have been proclaiming that he's dying and using his remaining words to spew death threats at me along the lines of 'the Purple Pig will die.' Not very original, but Powers is taking it to heart and making me retire early… Not that I care with that stupid name." Magenta had been given a ridiculous name as well, the Purple Pig. And her hero Shapeshifter had had a better name so she wasn't very enthusiastic about crime fighting with him… hence the reason why he was currently recuperating after she had "forgotten" to warn him about a wall he was going to run into. She scratched her black and purple hair then checked her watch that was Jack Skellington themed.

"What time is it?" Layla asked Magenta, her jade eyes wide with anticipation and worry.

"One fifty nine, they should be here soon." Just after she finished her sentence her watch turned to 2 and there were several pops of light and three new people were standing in Layla's apartment.

Layla hurriedly got up and brushed off her behind before offering her hand to the nearest person to shake. They took her hand and then said "Twiggy?" Layla nodded and said "Yeah and this is the Purple Pig." She gestured to Magenta who gave her the stink eye in return. "I thought I shouldn't wear my outfit to keep a low profile while traveling." She said to the masked person in front of her. She never realized how disconcerting and domineering people looked in real life while wearing hero outfits and such. She scuffled her feet a little as the three masked teleporters looked around her apartment at all her boxes.

"You have all the information you need on your assaignment?" The yellow one she'd been talking to asked her.

"Yeah I have everything right here." She brought it out from her back pocket again and handed it over to him.

He read the papers then told the other two teleporters, which Layla had nicknamed pinky and browny, the address of where she would be living Bon Temps. Pinky and Browny disappeared and reappeared in several flashes of light and gradually everything in Layla's apartment was disappearing with them. Yellow turned back to Layla and said "You should say your goodbyes now"

Layla turned to Magenta and felt her tears well up in her eyes. It hit her now that she really was leaving. Magenta couldn't hold her angry expression for long and was soon cry along with Layla. They held each other for a while and then finally drew apart after Yellow cleared his throat behind them. Layla forced a laugh at their antics and said while sniffling "I promise I'll keep you updated as much as I possibly can."

"You better bitch" Magenta and Layla laughed then Layla waved to her and walked over to Yellow. She took his outstretched hand and with a blinding light they disappeared.

Layla wretched her eyes open and could only see spots for a moment. "Sorry, I probably should've warned you." Yellow said from beside her as he held her straight up since she was a little wobbly on her feet. "Uh huhh" That was the only thing she could come up with as she held her head in one hand and had her other stretched out in front of her to search for a wall or something. "Good luck on your assignment Twiggy, there's an envelope on the table detailing further aspects for you to look over." With that last sentence there was another pop of light and Yellow, Pinky and Browny were all gone.

Layla continued to stumble around for a moment until she found her way to the kitchen. She was in a really nice house. Well it was big and old but it looked as if the previous person who lived there had taken a lot of pride in how this house looked to others, so it was well preserved. She saw the envelope on the table and went over and picked it up. She read the contents carefully and was shocked at what it said.

_Hero Name: (Sidekick Promoted) Twiggy_

_Assignment Description: To find US Citizen Sookie Stackhouse. Once located, to bring Stackhouse to Washington DC for Superhero Processing. _

_Additional Details: Stackhouse is involved with the vampire Bill Compton. Other vampires seem to have interest in her powers as well. Worked for Sam Merlotte who is a shapeshifter. Has one living relative, brother, Jason Stackhouse._

There was also a photo attached of Sookie. She was pretty, with blonde hair, fair skin, and sweet looking brown eyes, she seemed like a traditional southern belle to Layla. Layla was supposed to live in Stackhouse's house on the off chance that she returns and meanwhile search her town for any leads as to where she might be.

Layla sighed dramatically she had really chosen an assignment that was completely wrong for her. Why had they even given this one to her as an option? This was something that her powers couldn't help with…

"VAMPIRES?!" Layla screeched as it finally sunk in.

A/N: ok, so this was actually longer than the first chapter, but it's really hard for me to make the story move along.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Uh this is where the crossover really starts, if you've never seen true blood I'll to make it as unconfusing as possible.

Ch 3

Hi Neighbor

Layla was having a minor panic attack. At least that was what she telling herself… She was gripping her heart tightly and taking quick breaths while trying to find a chair to sit down in unaware of the fact that she was in front of one. She managed to plop herself down on the floor and control her breathing… that was the time that Sam Merlotte decided to knock on her front door.

"AHHHHH!" Layla screamed. She heard her door swing open and cowboy boot clad feet thundered towards her until they were in front of her as she looked around the kitchen for garlic or a cross. She spotted a cross on the wall next to the sink and lunged for it still not bothering to look up at the person who was in the kitchen with her. She yanked it off the wall and swung around with it in her hand trying to hit the other person. And she did… hard.

"Jesus Christ! What the hell was that for?!" The guy in front of her asked. He was rubbing his thwacked head gingerly and looking at her like she was crazy. He had sandy brown hair and was wearing a plain black tshirt with blue jeans and cowboy boots.

"Back! And don't you try to suck my blood you- you-… YOU!!" She was brandishing the cross in front of her like a sword but it wasn't intimidating him at all.

"I ain't a vampire" he said still holding his head and looked at his hand to see if there was blood. There wasn't it just hurt like hell.

"But- but… uh…" Layla really couldn't think up a reason as to why he would be a vampire that he would believe.

"You must of heard that the last person living here was abducted by 'em, right?" She quickly nodded at his excuse cause she knew that would be the smartest thing to do. "Well you shouldn't be too worried right now"

"Why?" She asked raising her cross a little higher

"Well number one it's still daylight and number two no vampire can enter your house unless invited. But if I was a vampire you should know that crosses don't work" He rubbed his head a little then held out his hand for her to shake while saying "I'm Sam Merlotte, would you please put down the cross now."

"I'm La-Lily, Lily Smith." Layla said while shaking his offered hand. She knew that her mission was undercover so no one could know her real name, Layla Blum, so she used her alias name, Lily Smith.

"Nice to meet you Lily, I guess you don't like people to knock? Or do you like people to announce themselves before knocking?" He was still rubbing his head.

"Oh I'm so sorry! I'm just a little skittish." She stepped forward and started to check his head. No blood but he would have a serious bump in the morning.

"I thought you were in trouble the way you screamed." He explained eyeing her cross wearily.

"Oh no, just jumpy I guess." She laughed sheepishly and stepped back from him placing the cross on the sink counter. She blushed behind her red hair.

"Well at least you have a nice swing… play baseball?" He was trying to make chit chat as he looked her up and down, taking in her skinny figure. She had long legs and a creamy white complexion which made her red hair and jade eyes stand out rather impressively.

"No… uh Mr Merlotte what are you doing here?" She was uncomfortable with his unabashed gazing at her.

"Just Sam please, but anyway when I heard that there was a new girl in town I thought I'd offer you a job. It's a great way to make friends and get to know everyone in town."

Layla thought about it for a moment until he opened his mouth again.

"Plus it'll help that investigation your doing." He looked at her with a suspicious look.

Layla knew what to do and reacted instantaneously. She called out to the potted plants around the kitchen and they had Sam pressed up against the wall instantly, he had a shocked look on his face.

"What are you?" He asked breathlessly.

"I'm a superhero." Yes, she felt corny… "Who told you?" She picked up the cross again as her closest weapon.

"I saw the feds snooping around before, following me and such… and I knew that I could help you look for Sookie. I've been looking for her too." He seemed honest enough, plus he had rushed in to save her before… she let him down and the plants returned to their pots. "So, uh, are you a famous superhero?" He was smoothing his clothes out and not looking at her while he asked his question which was good because she made a grimace at his question.

"Uhm, no… not exactly…" She moved over to the table and sat down in one the chairs, she liked this kitchen it was exceedingly cute in a quaint way. The wallpaper had little rosebuds and the window above the sink let light filter in and illuminate the crème colored décor. Sam made his way over to her and sat down across from her. He pointed past her to a corner of the kitchen that was near the side door of the house and said something that frightened Layla.

"Sookie's gran, Adele Stackhouse, was murdered over there." He seemed way too blahzay about that statement.

"Did you kill her?" The plants in the kitchen were already creeping out of their pots when Layla asked this question. Sam looked shocked and then startled "Don't you know about the killings last year?" Layla shook her head and he continued.

"Last year a couple of women, four including Sookie's gran, were murdered. Oh and her cat. It was cause they were fang bangers, or in Sookie's gran's case she just was accepting of vampires. The man responsible was killed by Sookie in self defense after he tried to kill her… and me." Sam was glaring off into space as he finished mumbling the last part. "Recently my cook and Sookie's friend Lafayette was found dead." He looked back at Layla now. "Sookie went missing about one month ago, a week after Lafayette was found dead. Sookie left with her boyfriend Bill Compton, who's a vampire." Apparently Sam didn't approve with the match and Layla suspected that he was jealous. Sam was fuming silently as she processed this new information.

"I'll take that job." Layla said completely derailing Sam's thought process. It would be a great cover to stay in town. Layla could look for Sookie and blend in without looking too suspicious. Plus it sounded like Sookie didn't have many living relatives here in Bon Temps so Layla had a greater chance of persuading Sookie to go to Washington. "When should I start?" Layla wasn't sure how many leads and clues she could get out of the towns people of Bon Temps but it was a good start.

"Tonight, at six if that's ok. You'll get off at about two though." He seemed hesitant at her answer and slightly pleading at the same time.

"Ok, what should I wear?" Layla distantly thought of all her packed boxes in the next room.

"Uh just some black shorts, I'll give you the official shirt when you come in. Merlotte's is just down this road, take two lefts, a right, and it's at the end of that road." Sam got up after that and started to head for the door, Layla followed after him.

"Sam," He turned to look at Layla "why haven't you found Sookie if you know all about how she left and such and have been looking for her for the last thirty or so days?" Layla was surprised at her own question it was just something she thought up on the spot. It seemed to doom Layla's chances of finding Sookie if Sam hadn't and he knew all this information and was searching for her for longer.

"I don't know. Sookie wouldn't tell me where she was going and I just assumed that she was going with Bill so I didn't worry. But this is very irresponsible for Sookie. She would at least call me to tell me she wouldn't be in for work. I don't think that Bill would let anything happen to her, but I've been wrong before." Sam seemed angered and saddened as he talked about Sookie, and that pretty much confirmed Layla's earlier suspicions that Sam had (or has) a thing for Sookie. With that last remark Sam turned and left.

Layla shut her front door and locked it. She slowly turned around and looked up at the staircase in front of her. To her left was the kitchen, her right the living room with all her boxes… she could wait to unpack those. She walked up the stairs slowly, they creaked and it was slightly scary now that she knew someone died in this house. She flicked the light on at the landing and then went to look in the bedrooms. The first was bare except for a bed and she could see that someone had posters on the walls for a while due to the variations in the wallpaper colors. The second room was soft and feminine, with an air of youth and delicacy. The third was kind of hollow feeling even though it was fully furnished and Layla realized it must have been the grandmother's room. Layla felt that the first room was the one she should stay in.

She wandered downstairs again and found the boxes marked for her bedroom and brought them upstairs. It took several trips up and down the creaky stairs but when she was done she set about unpacking and setting up her room. She was glad that she had so few possessions so she didn't feel like a complete intruder into the room. She furnished it to remind herself of her friends back at home. She set many pictures out that had Magenta, Zach, Ethan, and Will smiling stupidly and acting goofy. She had only brought one picture of Warren along but it was in a frame behind a picture of her and Magenta, and Layla couldn't even think of daring to remove it to look at it.

When she was done Layla looked up at the clock she'd just set on the night stand was amazed to see it read 5:20 pm. She quickly went to the dresser and pulled out her black shorts. She pulled her glossy red hair up into a pony tail then quickly went down stairs. She remembered Sam's directions vaguely and wanted as much time as necessary since she was sure to get lost. She grabbed the two keys out of the envelope that had had her mission letter in it.

She walked out of the house locking the door behind her again then went around to the side of the house. There was her rusty orange beetle smiling at her. She climbed in happy that the teleporters had remembered it and then started it up. She was slightly nervous as she drove down the road, she hadn't been a very good waitress before. Well actually she hadn't ever been a waitress, or anything else besides working at her local Borders, and being a superhero. But waiting tables couldn't be any worse than battling villains… right?

A/N: Ok so chapter three is done…


	4. Chapter 4

Ch 4

Merlotte's

Layla was not having a very good first night of work at Merlotte's. She had found her way there fine and it was good that she had left the house early because she entered the bar at ten past six. She walked into the bar and looked around. It was all wood interior and booths and tables, the door was across from the bar and they even had a pool table. There were stuffed animals hanging around the place and she wrinkled her nose in a disapproving gesture as she made her way over to the bar where Sam was. Then she met Tara Thornton which had not gone over well. Apparently in Bon Temps everyone knew everybody else's business, and the fact that Sookie was Tara's best friend and Layla was staying in her house meant that Tara considered Layla public enemy number one. So after that southern spit fire was done with her Arlene Fowler was unleashed upon Layla. This conversation started out friendly enough, Arlene was also red haired, skinny, and pretty even though it was obvious she was no young thing, then it turned to Arlene asking if Sam hired Layla because she was a young red head, it finally ended with Arlene sobbing while furiously demanding that Layla quit because she had kids to raise. Sam had arrived in time to spare Layla any more verbal abuse.

Then Layla's shift started. Layla sucked. She kept on forgetting people's orders, or bringing people other people's food, and even forgetting to place the orders with cooks. Layla was so miserable she wished for a giant monster to attack, but then she would visualize herself fighting it and next to her would be her hero- CRASH! As soon as Laylas thoughts reached that point she would drop whatever she was holding, and since she was having that delusion a lot that night it didn't help anything. Sam pulled her aside to try to calm her down and it worked until he told her that if she dropped anything else he was going to deduct it from her pay… because she was doing it a lot.

Near the end of the night she was missing the calls of her tables because she was tuning everything out. She had had enough. This job was too much. She was feeling very incapable, stupid, and abused. She could also constantly hear Tara's malicious sniggering at Layla's mishaps and the bar patron's nasty comments about her such as; "stupid Yankee bitch" and "red headed bimbo", all of the insulting comments were encouraged by Tara of course. Arlene would circle around to the bar and whisper to Tara and then they'd both set vicious eyes on Layla.

The only nice part about working at Merlotte's was that Layla met Hoyt Fortenberry and Terry Bellefleur, two of the nicest and most loose lipped men in Bon Temps. Terry was the cook at Merlotte's and since the bar was the enemies hiding place Layla hung around near the kitchen and talked to Terry, he knew Sookie ok but she still learned more about her than she did listening to the bar patrons. He was recently in Iraq and saw things sometimes, most people stayed away from him, but he seemed harmless to Layla as far as she could tell. He looked slightly haggard with a world weary look in his blue eyes, and his blond hair was slicked back looking like he was in a hurry to get to work. There was also Hoyt, who was a nice guy, sweet, and shy, he also knew Sookie ok but was friends with her brother and talked about her freely without being suspicious of Layla's interest. Hoyt had a smile ready face with dark hair and blue eyes.

Sam stopped Layla before she could flee the bar after they closed and he brought her into his office where Arlene and Tara were waiting. Layla stood warily away from them in the corner of the office that had selves that held their personal items while they worked.

"Now, I don't know what's happened between you three, but it needs to stop now. That had to be the worst night of service I've had besides when you waited Tara." Sam was reprimanding them, like they were three and fighting in the sandlot.

"Sam!" Tara was insulted at his comment and he shot her a look challenging her to contest his statement. "Well I have trouble waiting on stupid people…" Tara mumbled

"Look Layla is not here to replace Sookie she's looking for her too. And I can't have y'all fightin' like this, it's loosin' me business, so act your age and make up!" He was angry at them.

"I'm not trying to replace Sookie…" Layla began hesitantly while Tara and Arlene swung their heads around to glare at her "honestly, it just happened that I found out that I'm staying at her place. I want to find Sookie as much as you do, and once she's found I'll probably be on my way."

"Probably?" Arlene echoed, her finely plucked red brow raised high on her forehead.

"Well that depends on Sookie really…" Layla said while wringing her hands nervously, she didn't believe in violence and if Arlene threw a punch at her she wouldn't retaliate… but it would still hurt. Arlene looked tempted, Layla shifted her eyes to Tara… she looked more than eager to hit her. Sam cleared his throat and Tara sighed.

"Fine! Just don't mess that house up… Sookie's gran liked it to be clean and presentable looking." Tara walked forward and held out her hand for Layla to shake. Layla shook it then Arlene walked up to her and did the same. "This don't mean I like you" Tara tossed over her shoulder as she walked out and Arlene nodded, Layla sighed and said "Ditto"

Layla left the bar and proceeded to get lost for twenty minutes until she finally found her little dirt road home.

Two Weeks Later

It had been a two weeks since Layla moved to Bon Temps and started her assignment. She had taken a job at Sam Merlotte's bar, aptly named 'Merlotte's', to collect any clues she had to Sookie Stackhouse's whereabouts. So far she hadn't learned anything that she didn't already know. Layla had thankfully learned to tune out all the verbal abuse yet still hear the calls from her tables. She had managed to not drop anything anymore too, so Sam didn't have to deduct her pay. She had somehow finagled Arlene into liking her to the point where she called her "my little Lili", but had made no head way with Tara (who was spotted glaring at Arlene like she was a traitor). And it was that very night that Arlene provided Layla with the clue to find Sookie that would change her life forever.

Layla was half way to the door before she realized that she needed directions from Sam. Sometime earlier both Terry and Hoyt had mentioned a vampire bar in Shreveport but Layla didn't think that it was very important until Arlene had mentioned Sookie would go there with Bill from time to time, but when anyone would ask why Sookie was very secretive, and cryptic if you did get an answer out of her. Also she mentioned later that some vampires had come to the bar to find Bill and Sookie knew them… well she said there were two cases of this happening. But one set of three; a tall blonde woman, a tall blonde male (Arlene fanned herself and winked at Layla), and a squat pudgy Asian man, they had done some promoting for their vampire bar in Shreveport while they waited for Bill. Arlene then went into a short rant of her dislike for vampires, then quickly remedied that she didn't have anything against fang bangers or other people who associated themselves with vampires. Layla had just recently learned that Arlene was engaged to the man who killed all those people last year, including Sookie's grandma, and she still felt terribly guilty about it.

Layla turned back around and walked over to Sam's office she knocked gently and entered after she heard his mumbled "Come in"

"Hey Sam, do you know where that vampire bar in Shreveport is?" Layla took a step back at Sam's sudden expression change. A second ago he looked calm and fine now he was so livid he was turning red.

"You can't go to a vampire bar, Lily… That'd be just plain stupid! They'd eat you! LITERALLY!" Sam was out of his small leather office chair and in front of her face waving his arms around to emphasize his point.

"I can take care of myself—" She was cut off my Sam's angry protestation

"I doubt plant powers would fend off a club full of thirsty VAMPIRES!" Sam was looking out for Layla and she would normally be touched that someone cared… but he just insulted her powers so she disregarding his advice.

"Well thanks for your help Sam, but I think I can find this place by myself!!" She angrily stomped out of the bar with Sam yelling after her. She got in to her car and slammed the door a little harder than needed, then drove off pretty sure she left some rust flakes on the ground behind her. She barreled down the road back to her house, got out of her car still in a mood, and marched up the porch to open her door. When she got in she went upstairs and changed into a knee length green skirt and an off the shoulders deep green top. She slipped on heels and made her way back down the stairs. She screamed and dropped her purse when she spotted Sam leaning against her car.

"Jesus! What the fuck Sam?" Layla tried to side step him but he was blocking her way. "I'm going to make this quick" He insisted and she folded her arms and tapped her foot.

"Fine, go, I can't stop you and I can't follow you. They know what I am so I can't go in there without immediately marking you and me as a target. But Lily you have to come back!" He looked into her eyes intensely then took a step forward and crushed her to him in a hug. Layla had a deer caught in the headlights reactions… she stood stock still and hoped he would stop soon. She was baffled by his display of emotion since they hadn't really gotten that close over the past few weeks, she thought of him as a friend but that's it. Beside's she could only think of one man's arms she'd like to be in—She hit her head with the door as she pulled it open.

He stepped back from her car and said "Take the highway to get there, its exit twenty seven and then it's the forth right. It has huge neon signs and lots of goth people you can't miss it." Layla nodded and robotically got into her car. Sam looked at her through her window and said "Be careful Lily." With that he stepped away from her car and she backed out and drove down the road to the highway… or the way she thought was to the highway…

A/N: ok ch4…?


	5. Chapter 5

Ch 5

Fangtasia

Layla drove in a kind of haze. Whenever she thought of Sam hugging her she cringed, which was a rude reaction she knows but still… she couldn't think of him as anything other than nice _friend_ly Sam. She sighed and spotted her exit, turning on her blinker she exited the dark highway. (It only took her ten minutes to find the highway) She drove down the brightly lit street in Shreveport and could already tell that this town had more money than Bon Temps. While a vampire bar in Bon Temps would be a scandal it seemed to be accepted alright here. She kept her eyes open for any neon signs and suppressed a giggle when she saw it.

_Fangtasia_

Another giggle and about twenty darkly dressed people (Goths, Layla guessed) later Layla pulled into the parking lot. There was a long line to get in so Layla got to the end and waited patiently. It wasn't until she realized she was being glared at, that she didn't fit in. She had just thrown on some nice clothes not really stopping to think there would be a dress code… by dress code she means black clingy leather outfits and not her modestly cute green ensemble. She was alternating between pulling and fidgeting with her clothes and then smoothing out her freely hanging red hair when she reached the front of the line. A tall blonde woman with blue eyes and pale white skin was standing before the door. She had a deadpan expression as she asked Layla for her $20 and ID. Layla was suddenly very thankful for the ID the government had sent her her second day there.

"Twenty three, huh?" The blonde in front of her raised her eyebrow. "Lily… well welcome…" She handed Layla her ID back and stepped aside for her to pass. She didn't leave a lot of room for Layla to pass through though so Layla brushed really close to her, and the blonde turned her head as if to sniff her neck. Layla's walk became slightly stilted as she remembered that this was a vampire bar. Maybe she shouldn't have come alone after all… oh well too late now.

The interior to the bar was basically no surprise, lots of leathery shiny material in red and black on the walls, floor, and booths. There were dancers, well vampire dancers Layla guessed from their accelerated movements, on raised platforms and a bar with a short plump Asian man behind it. She made a b-line to the bar right away. It was not an easy task to do, there were quite a lot of people in the club and they weren't very moveable or aware of their surroundings. Layla's eyes strayed to different booths and she quickly looked away when she spotted obvious vampires with normal people… they were looking at them like prey. The people seemed oblivious though, like any normal person would turn and run away but these people just sat and stared mindlessly. Maybe Layla should've waited to come here with someone so she wouldn't feel like a helpless lamb all alone in a den of lions. She finally forced her way to the bar and set her arms up on it.

"What can I get you?" The Asian bar tender turned to her and smiled in what she imaged would've been alluring if she wasn't so creeped out to bother paying attention.

"Uhm a gin and tonic please, also I was wondering if it wasn't too much trouble could you answer a few questions for me?" She tried to be as polite as possible but she was sure she sounded uncomfortable and warbly in the loud room.

"Ok" Was it just her or was he still smiling at her strangely?

She dug out her picture of Sookie Stackhouse and showed it to him. "Do you recognize this woman?"

"Yes, that's the female of an acquaintance of mine." His smile was faltering a little now but he nodded at the picture anyway and handed her her drink. She didn't like that phrase he used 'the female'.

"Thank you, and when was the last time you saw her?" She was unnerved by his look and she was getting a bit of a head ache, it vaguely reminded her of when she was taking an anti-mindreader course and she had been taught to stave off psychic attacks.

"About four months ago, please excuse me now." He bowed slightly as she thanked him again and then he walked away from the bar.

Layla didn't know what to do with herself now. She picked up her drink and moved to stand over at a high table. She was sipping at it not really interested in it and looking around when the blonde vampire lady who let her in came over to her.

"Miss Lily Smith? The bar owner would like to meet you." Her deadpan face was really quite beautiful and Layla simply stared at her as she gestured toward the back corner of the bar on a raised platform to a man sitting in a large ornately carved wooden chair. Layla's eye traveled in that direction and she was amazed she didn't see him earlier. He was the most beautiful man she'd ever seen, except for-wince-not thinking about him… the man in the corner was in all black clothes and she could tell he had some muscles on him. He had the same pale skin the blonde vampire had, and he also had blonde hair down to his chin, and green/blue eyes... that were staring at her.

"Now" The blonde was staring at Layla now like she was retarded for her slow reactions. Layla quickly got up blushing and followed the blonde vampire lady to where the blonde vampire man was.

"Miss Lily Smith this is Eric Northman" The blonde vampire lady looked bored now and walked to stand behind an empty chair next to Eric.

Eric made a small gesture for Layla to sit down and she hesitated for a moment before deciding to. From here she could see the whole club and it was slightly unnerving that some people were staring back at her with adoration, jealousy, or…gulp… thirst.

"I've heard you've been asking my bartender questions about Sookie Stackhouse, and I would like to say that if you have any questions they should be directed to me and not my employee's." He was very articulate like he learned proper English many years ago, but he still couldn't hide the whisper of his accent that was lingering at the end of his words. He talked in a way that made it sound like he didn't really care what she said but there was a warning in there too. Layla quickly composed herself as she was brought back down to reality.

"When was the last time you saw Miss Stackhouse?" Layla fixed him with a proper inquisitive look hoping none of her fear seeped out through her eyes, he knew Sookie well enough to use her name and that could be good or bad.

"About fifty two days ago." He leveled her with a look that reminded her of the bar tenders creepy smile and she started to get that head ache again. Then it clicked, he was trying to manipulate her mind.

"Is that necessary?" Layla asked a little pissy. Her mouth was turned down in annoyance.

"Hmm?" He still had that look in his eyes but now it was more intense.

"That mind thing your doing, its giving me a head ache." She folded her arms across her chest and mentally noted that she must look like a walking advertisement for Christmas while surrounded by all this black.

Eric's eyebrow raised and his eyes seemed to relax and slowly Layla's head felt better.

"Thanks" She muttered and rubbed her forehead. There was a sudden clatter behind her and she jumped.

Eric's eyes remained on Layla but he said untroubled "Pam, attend to that please" The blonde vampire lady, Pam, nodded and moved away so fast Layla didn't even see it. Layla tried to follow Pam with her eyes but she couldn't find her at all, she only caught a flash of red and blonde hair. Then her eyes met with Eric's again and she forgot Pam and the red head.

"Any other questions Miss Smith?" He was mesmerizing but Layla had an assignment to do, so she had to ogle later.

"Do you know where Sookie Stackhouse is?" She was staring into his eyes with a fiery intensity that made the corners of his mouth turn up a little.

"Not exactly, no. I don't think anyone but she and possibly Bill Compton know that." His mouth really did look like it was smiling now at her facial reaction to his answer.

Layla must've been grimacing outwardly because she was inward. Eric's answer had been in no way useful. But she still persisted.

"When was the last place you know Sookie Stackhouse was?"

"Dallas, Texas" His glanced quickly away from her for a second and then back again.

"Do you know why she was there?" Layla pressed

"I asked her to do a favor for some vampires down in Dallas… it required her ability." He folded his hands in front of himself

"Was she supposed to return a certain day?" Layla was hopeful she would start to understand what happened to Sookie.

"Yes, three days after she left with Bill. But no one has heard from them for thirty two days, not even the vampires in Dallas." He seemed slightly bored again.

"Do you think that Sookie Stackhouse is in trouble, hurt, or dead wherever she is?" Layla saw him narrow his eyes as he answered stonily.

"No, I don't think so. Now Miss Smith it's getting early and the club is closing so please make your way to the exit." He stood up too fast then and held his hand out for Layla. She smiled, muttered a thank you shyly and took it helping her to standing up. She realized at that moment that there were only about fifteen people left in the club.

Eric surprised her by continuing to hold her hand while leading her through the club to the door and then to her car. Layla fumbled with her keys a little, being embarrassed by the attention, before managing to unlock her car door. She was busy climbing into her seat when Eric started to talk to her.

"Miss Smith, it has been a pleasure. But please be more careful when venturing out to dangerous places alone, and asking dangerous questions. Now drive safely." He shut her door for her then, turned and walked away. She sat dazed in her car for a moment feeling like he had forgotten to do something. Then she turned on her car and drove down the road towards her home and away from Fangtasia and Eric.

She lingered on her strange feeling about him. She remembered how Sam had suddenly grabbed her and hugged her before she drove away from him back in Bon Temps and suddenly wished Eric had hugged her like that. Layla realized that for the first time in three weeks she hadn't felt completely broken and depressed while Eric had been with her since she wasn't thinking of—she swerved her car drastically. Luckily she was the only one on the road. She knew her thoughts were turning dangerous… she liked the feeling of ease she had with Eric…

'Oh, that can't be good…' She thought

A/N: I the mkybard wt=I hate my key board with a passion. It took so long to write all that


	6. Chapter 6

Ch 6

The Dream…?

1 Week Later

Layla had been mulling over all the information she had learned at Fangtasia for the past week and was sure of one thing.

She should've found out who the vampires in Dallas were.

That way she could contact them to find out what they know and try to track down Sookie if possible. But this whole mission seemed slightly doomed now in Layla's opinion. She wouldn't stop looking for Sookie unless ordered to do so, but there are no leads to Sookie's whereabouts or any other clues to find her. It's like she literally disappeared off the face of the earth. And it's now been 59 days or so since any one saw her.

On a lighter note Layla had found some common ground between her and Tara. That ground being Sookies brother Jason Stackhouse, the horn dog himself. Now Layla would admit that Jason is very good looking but that does not make up for his behavior. He had a very angular face, with short messy dirty blonde hair, nice brown eyes, and a tan over his body of pure muscled rock. Still didn't make up for his behavior.

Upon meeting him he had complimented her, propositioned her, after she had declined him and asked him a question about his sister he went into a rant disguised as a sermon. She had flat out walked away from him and his preaching after a minute of not having her questioned answered. Now Jason thought of Layla as a person ok with vampires and would start a rant whenever possible. So when Tara and Layla started to tell Jason off simultaneously Sam was thankful it wasn't at each other and encouraged it.

Also Layla noticed that she had fallen into a pattern, and she wasn't sure if that was good or bad. She no longer dreaded going to work anymore than a normal person does. She was also able to ignore Sam's obvious affection for her, and she could even find her way to and from work. She could handle the mean people that she had to wait on and was happy to talk to Arlene, Hoyt, and Terry when she could. Right now Bon Temps was her home and she liked it more than her actual home.

But there was always a down side to everything like her dream last night, which had her stumbling around Merlotte's today like a depressed zombie…

_Layla knew she was dreaming. She knew she didn't typically wear 17__th__ century peasant clothing around her cottage… and she doesn't have a cottage. Her vibrant red hair was masked by a ratty gray kerchief, and her long muddy brown over skirt trailed along behind her as she did her chores. The very off white sleeves of her shirt were tied back so as not to get in her way and her worn green bodice completed her peasant ensemble. She looked to be no older than she is now but her face seemed more mature and world weary. Occasionally dream Layla would look anxiously out the frosted window for something then when she didn't see what she was looking for she would turn away sadly and continue with her chores that were slowly turning into busy work. Layla was getting into the dream now, she could really feel the cold coming from the stone walls and the gentle warmth from the small fire in the corner of the tiny cottage. Suddenly real Layla was inside dream Layla, she saw what dream Layla saw and could feel what she felt too but couldn't control her, like Layla was on a ride and couldn't do anything till it was done. _

_Layla was flooded with joy and happiness as dream Layla spotted someone walking toward her cottage through the snow. She bounced to the door and flung it open, letting a strong gust of icy air and lots of snow come inside the warm little cottage along with a blonde haired man._

_Layla stared dumbstruck at Eric Northman through the love filled eyes of dream Layla. She could feel her smitten smile and light blush upon her face. Eric was just as exquisite as the last time she'd seen him. But now his blonde hair was tied back in a low ponytail and he had on the traditional 17__th__ century clothing of a male peasant. _

_Dream Layla reached up to dream Eric, standing on her tip toes, her hand hesitantly resting on his cheek, and kissed him lightly on the lips as he kissed her back._

_Real Layla felt her heart break at this display of blatant love._

_Dream Layla lowered herself back down to her feet with her hand still on dream Eric's face and smiled with such a contented happy smile Layla felt her tears starting to run down her face. _

_She was only vaguely aware of the feeling of separation happening and realized it as she gazed in Warren Peace's obsidian eyes. She glanced to the side and saw dream Layla and dream Eric still gazing adoringly at each other, Layla and Warren were in the exact same position. Layla fixed her eyes back on Warren and started to cry again. He gently wrapped his arms around her and held her like she was the most precious thing to him in the world as dream Eric did the same to dream Layla. Warren's rough hand came up to her chin and cupped the side of her face bringing it out of his chest, which she had nuzzled her head into. His pitch black eyes gazed into her jade green ones for a moment before he lovingly pressed his lips against hers._

_She woke up violently, she was sobbing uncontrollably._

Layla walked into a wall just thinking about the dream, not on purpose for a change. She was almost distracted enough to miss her one table talking about Bill Compton. Almost.

"Hey anyone know how much that abandoned Compton house is?" A grungy looking hick asked his two friends in a low voice.

"Ew, man, why'd you wanna live in a house dat a vampire lived in?" The one wearing the blue shirt answered laughing at his friend.

"Yeah it might have dead bodies and shit in it!" The other guy remarked laughing but still thinking like it could be true.

"So? It's bigger than mah trailer an it's probably cheap." The grungy one defended himself.

"Yea? An what if dat vamp comes home? You'd be like 'is tv dinner!" The blue shirt guy was still smiling but it looked forced and his words were serious enough to convey he meant what he said.

"Naw, I'd own the house so he wouldn't be able to come in!!" The grungy one said with happiness because he thought he had won the argument due to his friend's stern faces.

"He owned it first…" The other guy said in a whisper, and it seemed to sober the grungy one up a little.

Layla turned to Terry who was cooking right next to her. She leaned up onto the little ledge of the window looking into the kitchen and called to him.

"Terry!" She tucked a piece of her red hair behind her ear and was oblivious to the fact she was exposing her chest to everyone in the kitchen.

"Yea Lily?" He was busy flipping burgers so he hadn't had time to ogle at Layla's modest cleavage like the other kitchen staff had.

"Where is Bill Compton's house?" She was now pulling up her shirt privy to the reason why the others were staring at her.

"Uh I think it's across the graveyard from the Stackhouse house…" He was flinching slightly at the mention of a graveyard so Layla changed the subject quickly by placing an order for some onion rings.

Layla looked at clock and it was only 12:47 am, she still had three hours before she could go and investigate the Compton house. Of course there was the off chance that Sam would let her off early. But would that be abusing power? Or his affection towards her? Nah! Layla walked over to the bar where Sam was drying glasses with a beaten looking dish cloth.

"Hey, Sam, could I go home early…" She didn't feel right asking for the rest of the night off, even though it was only three hours, without an excuse "I'm feeling kind of sick, and I think I need to rest."

"Yeah you looked a little out of it today, just ask Arlene to cover your tables. Feel better Lily." She nodded thankfully, and walked away to ask Arlene.

Layla left her apron in her cubby in Sam's officethen headed out to her car using the employee exit, saying goodbye to Terry and Tara on her way out.

She drove back to her house quickly, she couldn't explain why but she felt almost compelled to go and investigate Bill's house. When she got home and climbed out of her car she was met with a slight dilemma. A graveyard.

A chill ran down Layla spine and she shivered with it. She knew she would most likely be alright, after all zombies don't exist, right? 'But Vampire's do…' she pointed out mentally. 'But what would be the chances they'd be in Bon Temps?' She nodded on that thought and started to walk in the direction of the graveyard.

Once she got over her irrational fear of flesh eating zombies she could really appreciate the beauty of the graveyard bathed in the soft silvery moonlight. The weeping willows were glistening in the moonlight, and Layla called to them, enjoying the feeling of the wind in the leaves. The ground was soft and she padded silently on the path between the gray stone graves.

There was only one problem, she wasn't sure she was going the right way. The place was just so damn big, whichever way she looked the headstones would just stretch out in front of her. So she just followed the path hoping it was right, and if it wasn't she'd just turn around and head back.

Just when she was seriously contemplating turning around after awhile of walking she entered a clearing and at the end was a big house. It reminded Layla of the houses you saw in the places of the southern plantation. Which it probably was… But it looked to be in disrepair and rundown. As she looked over the front of the house she noticed one of the windows seemed lighter than the others. And that would mean that a light was on…

She sprinted forward toward the house, leaped up the steps and straight into the locked door. She fought with the knob for a moment before calling to a blade of grass. It grew over to her and she guided it into the lock, it fitted itself inside and she made it thick so when it turned it was now a cast of the key. She flung the door open finally and dashed inside discarding the piece of grass behind her. This house seemed to have the same layout as Sookie's so Layla ran up the stairs to the bathroom with reckless abandon. When she was at the landing in front of the door she could see the light flooding out and hear the slight murmuring of a strange language she couldn't understand. She turned the handle and pushed the door forward without thinking who would be behind it.

Her jaw dropped and she was pretty sure her face was bright red as she looked at a shirtless Eric Northman…

A/N: Is it cruel to end it there?


End file.
